


Without You

by MemoryDragon



Category: Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: AU, Action/Adventure, Angst, But He Gets Better, Future UNIT, Gen, He still remembers how to deal with sulky Time Lords, Hurt/Comfort, Temporary Character Death, The Brigadier is still BAMF, The Brigadier is too old to deal with this, The Doctor dies, The Master can cook, The Master flips out, b_e anon fill, off screen character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-24
Updated: 2011-04-24
Packaged: 2017-11-17 23:44:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/554517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MemoryDragon/pseuds/MemoryDragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Brigadier comes home to find the Master at his house, but even more surprising is that the Master isn't there to stir up trouble.  Faced with actually having to help the Master, the Brigadier resigns himself to a few more adventures.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Grieving

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** I do not own Doctor Who, nor do I make any claim to.  
>  **Warnings:** Um... None, really. Despite the fact this was written for an Doctor/Master anon kink meme, this ended up as a Gen fic without even mentions of Doctor/Master slash to it. So you don't have to worry about the latter part of the prompt, if you don't ship that way. The action bits don't really get started until the next chapter though, so fair warning on that.  
>  **Original Prompt:** _The Doctor dies, permanently, and the Master somehow, accidentally ends up taking over his role of galactic saviour._  
>  The Doctor comes back (don't care how) and the end up having awkward good guy sex.  
>  **Notes:** Written for the best_enemies anon meme. And yes, I'm aware this is an extremely odd choice of characters to throw together, but I'm told it works. XD  
>  **Author's thanks:** Thanks once again to nemaline! She took time out of her busy, busy schedule to get this betaed for me and I love her for it (even if she didn't notice I switched Kotoky's name to Brook at least five times...
> 
>  **Originally Posted:** Apr. 21st, 2011

"But I think he's underestimated me yet again. He underestimates how much I've gotten used to the life of a wanderer, how much that's home to me now. Just because he hates being alone so much..."  
-The Fifth Doctor on the Master, in the Big Finish audio play _Circular Time_

~

Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart was retired and happily so. The fact that people still called him the 'Brigadier' despite many efforts to get them to address him differently had stopped bothering him years ago, but it still remained that he had gotten older and wasn't up to the adventures like he used to have at UNIT. To be honest, it felt more natural for him to be addressed as the Brigadier than even his own name sometimes, so he was hardly one to argue when old habits died hard.

So when Doris called him while he was down at the pub with a few old friends, he wasn't all that surprised to hear someone who called him 'the Brigadier' was desperately demanding to see him. He still did the odd under cover job for UNIT after all and he was well known in certain spheres for having quite a bit of influence. Probably an old friend from UNIT that had found a bit of extraterrestrial trouble that needed sorting discreetly and he was usually more than willing to help.

When Doris said the man looked exactly like that Prime Minister who had been shot shortly after taking office, the Brigadier's blood ran cold. He had no personal knowledge of the Year That Never Was, but he knew what had happened and who 'Harold Saxon' was after the fact. Doris had chided him at the time for being the one man in the United Kingdom that didn't vote Saxon, but he'd always known something was off about that chap. He hadn't been overly surprised to find out it had been the Master in disguise and that the rescue had been a damned near thing too.

What the devil was the Master doing at his home? 

The Brigadier put a quick call into UNIT, not mentioning the Master by name but asking for back up if he didn't call back within an hour. If the Master was at his house, he couldn't risk him hurting Doris, so discretion was the better part of valor until she was safely out of the way. After that he rushed home. Doris was, thankfully, fine. No hypnotism, no plastic flowers on the counter or anything else suspicious the Master might have given her. She was just a little concerned by their 'guest's' odd behavior, but unharmed. 

He kissed her and told her to go to her brother's house to stay there for the night. Doris was a good woman and she did as instructed, leaving with a worried glance. What he'd done to deserve her, the Brigadier honestly couldn't have said. But he was hardly about to let her near one of the most dangerous criminals the universe had ever known, even if it was just to offer him tea.

Waiting until he heard her car drive away, the Brigadier walked into the living room. His eyes scanned the room with a keen intelligence that had never left him, taking in all that he could with the quick glance. There was the Master, pacing his living room with wild eyes. The bleached blond hair was new and the Master's sense of style was... Well, he couldn't have imagined either of the other Masters he'd met ever wearing a black hoodie, even if it was in disguise. Still, this was without a doubt the same villain who had tried to destroy and conquer Earth so many times.

"Well," the Brigadier said as the Master spun around, surprised at the sound. He must have really been agitated, not to notice the Brigadier had come into the room. "What have you come here for?" he asked, not drawing the old revolver he kept on him, but keeping his hand near it. 

The Brigadier watched as the Master glared at him, taking stock of the man. It was obvious by the pacing and how he held himself that the Master was both nervous and agitated, which was why he hadn't drawn his gun. It was more than just the grunge look, because there were circles under the Master's eyes and an almost feverish look in them. That said, the Master had obviously come here for something and he hadn't hurt Doris which meant that for now, he was unlikely to hurt the Brigadier. Years with the Doctor had managed to teach him that shooting first wasn't always the best answer, even if it was his first thought. 

"It's about time you got back," the Master said. "Go on then, aren't you going to arrest me? Where's your back up and gun to threaten me with? Greyhound one to base, five rounds rapid, and all that?" The Master bounded past him, looking down the hall and finding no one else in the house. "You sent that woman away at least. Good. I can't stand tea. That's all you humans think about is _tea_. Don't you ever-"

"I highly doubt you're here for a social visit," the Brigadier said, leaning on the cane he brought with him everywhere now. A bad fall in the 90's guaranteed that, but he was used to the aching hurt. Besides, a second gun was hidden in it and another reason he hadn't drawn his other weapon. "Out with it, man. What do you want?"

The Master stilled, then backed away with the same manic energy. "Still have the rubbish mustache, I see," he said, looking over the Brigadier with the same critical gaze that the Brigadier had used earlier. His hazel eyes rested on the cane for a few seconds, but he didn't comment. "Some things never change. That's good, actually, really just... He'd have said it's brilliant, this time around."

The Brigadier brought the cane down on the ground with a sharp bang. The odd thing was that the Master jumped, the second time he'd been startled since the Brigadier had come in. Intrigued, the Brigadier raised an eyebrow that the Master steadfastly ignored. "Why are you here?" he asked again finally.

Looking away, the Master surprised him further by being unable to meet his eyes. Well, now the Brigadier really had seen everything. "He's dead," the Master said flatly.

A second eyebrow joined the first that had been raised. He motioned for the Master to sit, but the Master simply glared. The Brigadier took a chair, the high-backed reading chair Doris liked, not the recliner. It never did to be too relaxed in the Master's company. "Who's dead?" he asked, half guessing at the answer, though scarcely believing it. There was only one person the Master would have gotten this worked up over. 

"You know who," the Master spat, the energy that had been coursing through him before nearly exploding as he went on. "The _Doctor_ 's dead. Who else _matters_? He's dead. Not mostly dead, he's not getting better and he's not coming back! The Doctor is _dead_."

"I'd have thought it wouldn't have bothered you." The Brigadier leaned back against the chair, watching the Master thoughtfully. "You always looked pleased about it, when you thought so in the past."

"I don't _think_ he's dead, Brigadier. I saw him _die_." Crumpling down on the couch across from the Brigadier, the Master curled up and put his arms over his head. The Brigadier watched him dispassionately, though he was honestly getting a little worried.

He and the Doctor had gotten into their fair share of disagreements, but despite that, the Brigadier had an unshakable faith in the man. The Doctor wasn't infallible, however. Whatever the truth was, it was obvious the Master believed it. He had seen the Master lie numerous times in the past and this wasn't acting. "You saw him die, then. What's the matter with that? Weren't you the one to kill him finally?"

For one moment, he thought the Master was going to stand up and strike him. He sat there impassively, showing neither fear nor anger at the threat in the Master's tense shoulders. He simply watched and waited for the Master to control his temper or to attack. If it ended up as the latter, the Brigadier had his cane ready.

The Master didn't move from the couch, however, instead visibly calming himself down. "That's why I came here. None of that weeping and crying and sentimental crap his other companions would do. Just the calm acceptance of an old soldier who's already seen too many people die in front of him. Perhaps I should send more plastic flowers to their graves?"

It wasn't worth it to answer that, not when the Master's maniacal and insane laughter covered anything the Brigadier might have said. He waited for the Master to stop, who was now rocking slightly as he held his head. The Master obviously wasn't mentally stable, but that was really no surprise. 

To be honest, the news of the Doctor's death hadn't quite sunk in yet. He could mourn later though, if it became necessary. Right now, he was forced into playing the Master's game and what was certain was that the Doctor wasn't here to back him up. 

Finally, the Master started speaking again, this time less cryptically. His voice cracked slightly, but his words were other wise expressionless. "I destroyed an entire world after he died, just to celebrate. I let that stupid old man he'd been dragging along with him go once I found the TARDIS and just took off. I destroyed all life on Dalton 6 with a nano virus. It only took me a month. Then I took over the the planet Persephone and watched it destroy itself in civil war after I left."

"So you came here to brag about how much you can do now that the Doctor isn't around to stop you?" the Brigadier asked, for the first time showing anger. The Master never changed. "He would have stopped you. If you're going to-"

"Shut up!" This time the Master did stand, moving like lighting to invade the Brigadier's personal space and pointing a finger at his chest. The Brigadier didn't back down, still furious over the Master's words. "I'm not here for your stupid moralistic lectures. I got enough of them from _him_. The Doctor is _dead_ , so hush now and listen to me."

"If you want someone to listen to your ranting, I'm sure I could find you a prison psychiatrist." The Brigadier didn't know what he expected to see in the Master's wild hazel eyes, but it wasn't the hastily covered betrayal and hurt that he saw there. The Master pulled away abruptly, glaring as he backed off. The Brigadier was baffled, not sure what the Master was getting at or why he had looked betrayed, of all things. 

Not quite believing what he was about to say, the Brigadier sighed and waved for the Master to continue. The Master was obviously unhinged and if talking to the Brigadier kept him from going out and killing more people, it was probably for the best. "Alright, I'm listening."

For a while, neither of them spoke, just wearily watching the other as they waited for one of them to make a move. Finally, the Master continued on with his explanation, pacing this time instead of curling back up on the couch. "I didn't enjoy it though, that should make you happy. Killing all those people and watching them die didn't make me happy like it should have. I thought with the next planet I'd try a longer dictatorship. Except that damned TARDIS didn't go to the coordinates I set, setting me right in the middle of a nuclear holocaust." 

Waving his hands in the air in disgust, the Master glared at the blank television screen. It wasn't on, but for some reason it offended him and he stared at it as if he expected to see some picture there. "I had to _save_ the ungrateful revolutionaries and the planet just to get out of there alive. By the time I got away, the TARDIS took me to another world that I had to save. And another after that, and another..."

The irony of the situation didn't escape the Brigadier, but he hid his smug amusement with many years of practice from yelling at Sergeant Benton. The Brigadier didn't believe in any sort of cosmic justice or karma, but it certainly served the Master right to be forced into helping people after all the crimes he committed. A sort of community service, if you like.

The Master paused in his pacing, eyes moving away from the television screen and to a picture frame of the Brigadier and Doris on holiday with an unreadable expression on his face. Whatever he thought of the picture, he didn't mention it. The Master continued on with his rampage just as if he'd never seen it. "I saved four planets, two moons, three space stations, and a Paramalde battle cruiser that had been converted to a transport ship for refugees, all because the Doctor was a sentimental bastard who let his TARDIS get away with anything! She wouldn't even let me back _in_ sometimes, until everyone was saved. I didn't like saving all those people either, by the way. I only did it to save myself."

The latter was said more bitterly in response to the Brigadier's eyebrows which had once more worked their way up his forehead. "I wouldn't have thought otherwise," the Brigadier said mildly. "Sounds like you've almost become respectable though, even if it is against your usual bad judgment. You still haven't told me why you've come here of all places. I'm hardly likely to help you get that machine of the Doctor's to work for you, even if I knew how."

The Master shook his head furiously, almost pounding at it as if he were angry with himself. The Brigadier half stood, worried the Master might do himself real harm, but the Time Lord stopped and crumpled back on the couch again. "Because he's _dead_ ," the Master said again, quieter this time. "He wasn't supposed to die. I... I tried to save him, if you'd believe that. Not that you would, but I did. He wouldn't get out of the way!"

He was right, of course. The Brigadier didn't believe him, not entirely. Oh, he had no doubt it _happened_ the way the Master said, but there was more to it than just that. The Master had to have another angle that he wasn't saying. At the same time, given how agitated the Master was, the Brigadier did wonder if that really hadn't been _one_ of his reasons.

Moving to the window, the Brigadier gazed outside into the small garden Doris insisted he keep once he'd retired. The flowers really were more trouble than they were worth, but they made Doris happy... What was he doing, thinking about flowers when the Doctor was dead? He supposed it was just too hard to take in. The Doctor had been too good at cheating death and too good a man to lose. "So he's really gone this time? Not just... slipped out from under your nose with a new face?"

"I'd have known him, even if he had regenerated," the Master snapped. "Besides, he'd never have let me have his TARDIS again if he'd been alive." 

The Brigadier nodded, accepting that at least on face value. "The Doctor was a good man," he said, still staring out the window as a deep sadness overcame him. "All of them," he added mostly to himself, blinking back the moisture in his eyes.

It wouldn't do to let the Master see that sorrow, however. The Master was just the sort of man to try and use it against him to get what he wanted. Fortunately for the Brigadier, the Master didn't seem to know what he wanted right now. "So what now then?" he asked, testing the waters. "Where do you plan to go from here?"

The Master curled up into a fetal position on the couch, covering his head with his arms again. Frowning, the Brigadier nearly told him to get his feet off the couch before he caught himself. Now was hardly the time and he didn't think the Master let just anyone see him this openly vulnerable. He was greatly surprised the Master was letting _him_ see this. Had the Master been anyone other than a mass murdering lunatic, the Brigadier might have felt honored that he was trusted this much. As it was, he didn't really know what to do with the impossible man on his couch. 

"I don't know. I don't... I don't want to be alone," the Master admitted weakly, voicing what the Brigadier had suspected. "The Doctor did something to me before he died. He... took the drums away, fixed this regeneration. I don't know how, but he did and then he went and _died_ without so much as asking what I wanted."

The drums? The Brigadier vaguely remembered the Doctor saying something about that, on one of the peaceful nights at UNIT headquarters. Liz had come down to visit, demanding the Brigadier stop working and come and socialize. They'd gotten on the subject of the Master somehow, Jo asking how the Master could bear to do such horrible things.

The Doctor had worn those fancy smoking jackets and frilly shirts back then, looking older than he ever had since even though the Brigadier had come to understand that the Doctor had been fairly young himself back then. The Doctor had been nursing a brandy appreciatively, rubbing the back of his neck when the question came up. He'd said... he'd said that the Master had heard drums ever since he was a child, that they used to be very good friends until the Master had been pushed to do something terrible and the madness had taken root. "They were a sign of madness, you see," the Brigadier could almost hear the Doctor saying, with a wistfulness in his eyes that turned to resigned sorrow. Funny how clearly such a memory came back to him after so many years. Before he'd known the Doctor was gone, the Brigadier doubted he would have been able to remember such details, but sorrow made such memories brighter.

Without the drums, did that made the Master sane now? He hadn't exactly been acting it. In fact, he almost seemed more unbalanced now than he ever was before. At least he'd had method to his madness in the past. "If the Doctor fixed you, isn't that a good thing?" the Brigadier asked, turning away from the window to keep a better eye on the Master.

"I didn't _want_ to be fixed, not by him! Not like that!" The Master curled up tighter with a certain quality to his voice that made the Brigadier think he was just barely holding back tears. "I wanted revenge! I wanted Rassilon to suffer for all the things he put me through by giving the drums to me! I wanted..."

Looking down at his watch in the silence after the Master trailed off, the Brigadier realized his hour was almost up. He took a deep breath, weighing his options out in his mind as the military strategist in him had taught him long ago. By all rights, he should let UNIT barge in and take the Master prisoner. Lord knows that the Master had more than enough crimes to atone for, some of which included the deaths of his men. The longer the Master stayed, the more likely he was to try to kill the Brigadier and other innocents as well if this current 'truce' ran out. 

That was hardly honorable though, considering the Master had come here to talk and... and to grieve, though the infernal man would probably never admit that. If the Doctor were here, he'd probably have pleaded with the Brigadier to spare the Master, just this once, as he hoped for a break through. 

The Brigadier was a man of duty. He would gladly lay his life down if that was needed to save the world and he would do it regardless of the thanks or lack thereof he would have gotten. But he also had a duty to his friends, especially ones that had already made that ultimate sacrifice. As much as he didn't want to admit it, the Brigadier knew what the Doctor would have wanted him to do in this case. The Master wasn't exactly in any condition to start killing anyone right now either.

Knowing he would ultimately regret this, the Brigadier walked past, briefly resting his hand on the Master's shoulder. "There's an extra bedroom in the back. You can stay here for the night." The Master didn't respond or move in acknowledgment, but he knew the Master had heard. Shaking his head, the Brigadier went into the hall to call UNIT.

"Hello?" he said into the receiver a few moments later. "Yes, I'm fine. No, I don't need backup just yet. Keep it ready though, just in case. Yes, I'm aware that mobilizing troops on a whim isn't... I'm hardly the type to get 'hysterical' over a threat, now am I? Look, just tell Colonel Brimmicombe-Wood to have those men ready!"

Hanging up with a huff, he was surprised to see the Master poking his head out into the hallway with a guarded expression. "Calling for backup to take your _guest_ captive?" he asked acidly. 

"I certainly didn't invite you here. And I was calling it off actually," the Brigadier said, tired of games and bureaucracy. "They're still on standby, if you decide to try anything. This doesn't mean I trust you, you know."

Oddly enough, the Master just nodded, hovering hesitantly in the door way. Damned if this wasn't awkward. Out of all the people the Master could have wanted to see in the event of the Doctor's death... "Have you eaten?" the Brigadier asked gruffly. The Master shook his head. "Well, you interrupted my dinner. I suppose we'll just have to find something in the kitchen."

Without waiting to see if the Master would follow, the Brigadier went into the kitchen to prepare a small dinner for both of them. Nothing fancy, just a few sandwiches to tide them over for the night. Neither he nor Doris were very big on cooking, but he didn't need takeaway to survive like most young people did these days. The Master ate without speaking, even accepting tea without complaint and the Brigadier was perfectly content with the silence. It was better than awkward questions. 

After dinner, he made sure the Master was settled in the guest room with enough blankets and pillows. Then he walked a few houses down the block to borrow a phone from one of the neighbors, calling Doris to assure her that things would be alright. 

The Master was asleep by the time he got back, or was feigning it well enough to convince the Brigadier. Regardless, it saved them both from more awkward conversation. The Brigadier watched the news for a bit before turning in to bed himself.

He lay awake that night, thinking about the Doctor. It was hard to imagine the universe without him. Though the Brigadier had saved the world without the Doctor's help before, it was still somehow more frightening to know the Doctor was no longer there. He couldn't quite bring himself to believe it either. It wasn't like the Brigadier was prone to fits of denial, but the world without the Doctor was damned hard to think about.

* * *

The next morning the Brigadier woke to the smell of pancakes and bacon. Which was just a little odd, considering he knew they didn't have any bacon in the house. Curious, the Brigadier went into the kitchen. Any other person who knew the Master as well as he did would have found the scene that greeted the Brigadier there quite astounding. There was the Master, in the middle of a near spotless kitchen switching back and forth between cooking the bacon and flipping pancakes with practiced grace. 

Even knowing that the Master had been trapped on Earth several times didn't really prepare one for the sight of the Master cooking and cleaning up after himself so neatly. The Brigadier wasn't surprised by much anymore, however, and he simply took the sight in his stride without batting an eye. "Trying to poison me now, are you?"

The Master looked up, glaring. "Then don't eat any," he snapped.

It could just be a ploy to get the Brigadier to eat it regardless, sort of a reverse psychology or some such nonsense that went over his head which the Doctor might've gone on about. However, for once the Brigadier didn't think that it was the case. Maybe under different circumstances, the Master might have tried something, but he gained nothing from trying to poison the Brigadier right now and he would lose the one person on the planet who he could talk to about this. 

Besides, it did smell very good. "Where did you get all of this anyway? he asked curiously. "And it's generally polite to ask before using someone else's kitchen."

"The TARDIS," the Master said, watching the Brigadier warily and ignoring the reproach he found there. "I figured if I left things to you, we'd just be eating sandwiches. If it offends you that I didn't ask, then you can't have any."

The Brigadier admitted that was a very fine point and got out plates for setting the table. He served himself from the neat stack of pancakes that were already finished, carefully separated from the bacon by the Master, which the Brigadier also helped himself to. He nodded in approval at the taste, noting with interest that the Master relaxed slightly after that.

Once they had both eaten, the Brigadier took care of the dishes. It was a bit unnerving how the Master watched him, but he didn't show it. Every so often the Time Lord would stop watching to stare into his tea moodily. Whatever his complaints against the beverage earlier, he didn't seem to mind it now.

"Why did you do it?" the Master asked as the Brigadier dried his hands. "UNIT, I mean. No one thanks you for it and half the world doesn't even know who you are. So what was the point of doing it?"

"Someone had to. The world isn't going to protect itself." It had been his duty and the Brigadier took his responsibility seriously. He hadn't even really thought about leaving it to someone else and there wasn't much more to it than that. He didn't need thanks or fame at the end of the day, just the peace of mind knowing that the world was safe from outside threats.

The answer didn't satisfy the Master, however, who left his tea to resume pacing. "Why did _he_ do it then? What was in it for him? This isn't our planet and our own people exiled him and spurned him for it. Why did he bother?"

The Brigadier didn't have to ask who 'he' was, instead he poured himself another cup of tea, stirring in milk as he considered the question. "I suppose it was because he thought it was the right thing to do. He didn't like anyone losing their lives, human or alien. He couldn't just stand there and do nothing."

The Master stayed silent for a long while after that and it was the Brigadier's turn to watch him. The Brigadier was used to seeing a self assumed confidence or an energetic tension in those shoulders, with coldness or disdain in his eyes. There was an uncertainty that surrounded the Master like a cloak now and there was something else wrong that the Brigadier couldn't quite name. For a normal person, the Brigadier would have said it was grief, but for the Master...

"The Doctor liked to cook as well," he said, watching the Master carefully for a reaction. If the Master wanted to talk, maybe it was best just to get this over with so the Master could go bother someone else. Besides, it would be good to talk about the Doctor, if he was indeed gone. "Never as neat about it though. Miss Grant complained bitterly after when she had to clean up, but he always made a decent meal out of it."

At first, the Master was startled by the conversation. The Brigadier wasn't altogether sure he would respond, but he waited as the Master took the words in. "He was always like that," the Master said quietly. "Never bothered with recipes, just using whatever was on hand and making a mess of everything. Even his TARDIS is a mess. You could spend centuries sorting through it and it still wouldn't look clean. You've seen how he kept his lab."

The look the Master gave him of long suffering disgust was almost comical. If it had been anyone else with that expression, the Brigadier might have laughed. There was too much blood between them for the Brigadier to drop his guard that much, however. "I always thought there was some method to that madness. It all looked the same to me."

The Master rolled his eyes, but didn't comment nastily like the Brigadier had assumed he would. Instead, he haltingly started to talk about the Doctor. First, angrily about all the times the Doctor had left him to burn or to whatever fate awaited him, then moodily as he spoke of how often the Doctor ruined his plans and finally fondly of their days at the Academy. Through it all, the Brigadier listened. He listened more to learn what he could about his old friend from someone who knew him so well more than because the Master needed to talk to someone, but in the end it all equaled the same thing. The Doctor was gone.

"He wasn't supposed to die," the Master said quietly, frowning into his teacup as if he couldn't figure out why that was wrong. 

The Brigadier supposed it must be a bit of a shock, finally getting what he wanted for all those years only for the Master to realize he didn't want it so much after all. "You must miss him."

"I don't..." the Master started as he got angry again, but stopped as he saw the Brigadier's raised eyebrows. "I don't miss that over pompous idiot," he said after the pause, practically daring the Brigadier to argue with him.

"And yet you've done nothing but talk about him for the past three hours?" The Brigadier asked, noting that it was past time for lunch and they were on their third pot of tea. Before the Master could argue, he went on with a matter-of-fact tone that was impossible to contradict. "It's been months for you since it happened, hasn't it? Why did you come here otherwise?"

"Because I don't know what else to do!" The Master was up, pacing around the room like a caged animal, terrified of what waited for him on the other side of the bars. "Having power doesn't sound fun any more, killing people is boring and forbidden texts have lost their appeal. I don't even have the drums any more! What am I supposed to do without them?"

The Master spun around and snarled as he advanced on the Brigadier, who continued to calmly sip his tea. "He didn't tell me what to do when the drums were gone! He didn't even _ask_ if I didn't want them. He just took them and _died_. What am I supposed to do now? I can't... I can't stand being alone."

The Brigadier set his cup down, staring back at the Master levelly. He didn't have to help the Master. He wasn't the Doctor and had no obligation to aid this man. In fact, he had every obligation to turn him in to finally pay for his crimes, not that any prison in this time period would really be able to hold the Master. 

Maybe it was age that mellowed him or perhaps too many years with the Doctor, but the Brigadier found himself standing up wearily, wincing as his back and knees protested. "I'm assuming you've put that time machine of the Doctor's somewhere near by?"

Surprised by the sudden change of subject, the Master took a step back. A guarded look quickly replaced the surprise as the Master tried to figure out what the Brigadier was up to. "Why do you want to know?" he growled, eyes narrowing as he prepared for the Brigadier's new game. 

The human glared right back with the full authority of an officer who expected to be obeyed. "I've gotten old and dashing about the city to get to it is out of the question. If it isn't near by, then you'll have to move it so it is."

The guarded look turned to a sneer as the Master scoffed at him. "And you expect, what? To confiscate it for UNIT?"

"I expect to try and answer your question," the Brigadier said candidly. The Master's eyes widened, for a single moment looking completely unguarded and vulnerable. It was in that moment he realized the Master was absolutely terrified of this drum-less existence and was just barely holding everything together. 

The expression was gone within a half a second and the Brigadier didn't let on that he'd seen it. This 'regeneration' - or whatever the Doctor used to call it - was so different from how the Brigadier remembered the Master to be in the past. He didn't even claim to understand how the Doctor's people changed their face, but he'd never seen the Master spiraling out of control like this before. If it were anyone else, the Brigadier might have felt pity. Which was just as well that pity for the Master was impossible, since the Master wouldn't have stood for it anyway. Certainly not from the Brigadier, at least.

The Master swallowed once he regained his composure, back to watching him wearily. "It's down the street," he said finally after some consideration. Nodding, the Brigadier motioned for the Master to lead the way. 

The blue police box hadn't changed on the outside and the Brigadier gave the wooden box a fond pat before he stepped inside. How the Doctor had fussed over that machine... The inside of the box was much different from the last time he'd seen the inside of the TARDIS though. No longer was it pristine and white. The console room was dressed in warm colors and lighting, looking even more of a mess than it had when the Doctor had taken it apart. 

If he'd thought the original console had been beyond him, this mismatched bit of machinery made even less sense. He looked around curiously, cataloging the differences as the Master strode in and spun around, glaring sullenly. "Well, what now? Where's your magic answer to the unsolved mysteries of the universe?"

"Is that him?" The Brigadier asked, his eyes catching sight of one of the monitors. On the screen was a man in a torn brown suit and hair that couldn't seem to decide if it wanted to stick up or lay down. There were cuts and bruises all over his pale face and hands and the man looked as still as death. He felt like he should be reacting more, if that really was the Doctor's body on the screen, but it was just like seeing the face of a stranger. The Brigadier saw nothing of the man he knew in that lifeless body, just an odd sense of isolationism.

The Master scowled, immediately reaching up and turning off the monitor. Raising his eyebrows in question, the Brigadier had to admit he was more than a little surprised at this new development. "I thought your people burned the bodies of their dead?" he asked mildly. At least, that was what the Doctor had put on his forms at UNIT, in case the worst happened so they would know what to do with the body. 

The man on the screen had shown no signs of decomposition that should have been on a months dead body, however. The Brigadier was no stranger to corpses and one that old should have long since started to show the signs of time. Even Time Lords couldn't be exempt from that, could they?

"I put him in a time stasis chamber instead," the Master said, starting to pace again.

"A time what's-it?"

"A stasis chamber! How can you be so dense as-" the Master cut himself off at the flash of anger in the Brigadier's eyes, presumably remembering the Brigadier was helping him and such patience was far from infinite. Again, the Brigadier wondered how desperate the Master had become, that he forced himself to calm down and answer the Brigadier with a flatter tone. "It keeps time from moving, alright? So the body won't start to decompose. I assume I don't have to explain how corpses decompose to you?"

"And you've set up a constant watch over it?" The Brigadier asked, ignoring the last comment. The Master didn't respond, simply glaring at him. Well, that did explain a few things, both in terms of the body and the Master's state of mind. He couldn't let go of the Doctor and the fact was both haunting and frustrating him. He wanted to get away from the Doctor's legacy, but couldn't.

The Brigadier took all of this in, but didn't say anything about it. What would be the point, other than to taunt the Master? He wasn't the sort of man to take pleasure in such things nor was it befitting someone of his rank, so he let it pass and kept the information for later. "And what about this flashing light," he asked to change the subject.

Willingly distracted, the Master frowned and came over to stand at the console next to him. "Someone is messing with time... There's a blip the TARDIS is picking up a few hundred years from now, not that far away."

"So what are you going to do about it?" The Brigadier asked. "Isn't that what your people do, fixing that sort of thing?"

The Master rolled his eyes. "Did, Brigadier, _did_. The Time Lords are gone. Dead. Deceased. Burning for all eternity and good riddance to them. It's just... just me left." The Master had been working himself up into an energetic rant, but on the last sentence he faltered, glancing towards the now blank screen. "It's not my problem," he finished flatly. "Time will sort itself out."

"And if that 'blip' becomes large enough to destroy everything? What will you do then?" The Master shot him a dirty look, but didn't respond. Taking a chance, the Brigadier pressed forward. "If you're the last, that makes it your duty to fix it. You're the only one left who can."

"And what if I don't _care_? Did you think of that?" the Master asked acidly. "Why should I care? What does it matter to me if the universe burns? The universe has never been very kind to me. It never did _anything_ for me. It watched me burn and laughed as the drums drove me insane, so why shouldn't I do the same? Don't lecture me on 'duty', gramps. I don't care."

The Brigadier stood there impassively, leaning on his cane for support and not showing any of the hidden smile on his lips. "Are you sure about that? I thought you were looking for something to do?" he asked as if he were talking to a particularly dense student who still hadn't gotten the correct answer. 

The Master looked over at him with surprise evident on his face. "I'm not going to save people. That's what the Doctor did, fixing things. I'm _not_ him."

"I should say that was rather obvious," the Brigadier said, snorting softly. He walked over to one of the benches and sat down, waiting for the Master to make up his mind. "You don't have to kill people, you know. You said that kind of life doesn't appeal to you anymore, so why not try something different?"

"Because I'm not the Doctor! I'm not going to just go around replacing him, doing all the things he would have done!" The Master shouted angrily, balling his fists.

When the men were unfortunate enough to be over heard complaining, the Brigadier could usually square away their complaints with a single look. It generally shut the soldiers and students up nicely and he rarely heard another protest after that. Surprisingly, the look worked just as well against the Master too, though he still looked angry. "You don't have to do things the way the Doctor did. So long as you don't want to scheme to conquer half the universe and destroy the rest, you need something else to keep you busy. This will keep you out of trouble and give you purpose with the Doctor dead. Now, are we going or not?"

The Master rolled his eyes again, but started resignedly flicking switches and pressing buttons, bringing the console to life as the center column started to raise and fall slowly. It was a surprisingly smooth ride, according to the Master who muttered something under his breath about the TARDIS having a thing for the Brigadier, but as far as the Brigadier was concerned he was just glad he wasn't being jostled about. He was really too old to to be going off on these adventures...

The Brigadier walked out into London in the 24th century, not expecting to see much had changed. In some respects, he was right. London would never change, not in the feel of her. There were a few obvious differences though, flying cars and fashions being the two that stood out to him the most.

Stepping out after him, the Master scowled, sinking further into his hoodie. The Brigadier looked over at him, but the Master stayed silent, refusing to give the sort of soaring explanations the Doctor might have given. He was about to ask how they could find the blip when hands came up around him, pressing a cloth to his mouth.

He could hear the Master shouting, but he payed no mind to that. Using his cane, the Brigadier gave a sharp jab into the stomach of his attacker and was rewarded as the cloth fell away from his mouth. The drug they'd been using made him a little light headed, but he fought the effects even as he struck at the man's knees. He turned, drawing his gun and aiming it at the attacker. 

Unfortunately, he was very much outnumbered. There were seven men and women - soldiers by the look of them, though they weren't in any sort of recognizable uniform. It was in the way they held themselves and stood in formation, looking to the man whose knees he'd knocked out for orders.

With no small amount of dismay, the Brigadier saw that the Master was collapsed against one of the women, knocked unconscious by the drug and being held with a gun to his temple. He wondered if the Master had always been this much of a handful for the Doctor. 

"Give it up, old man," the officer said, limping as he gasped in pain. "We have your friend. Just come along quietly and neither of you will get hurt."

"He's hardly my 'friend'," the Brigadier said, holding himself straight as he weighed his options. Unfortunately, he was retired for a reason and holding off seven armed soldiers when he'd been in his prime would have been a difficult feat. The Brigadier handed over his gun and held up his hands resignedly, wondering how he managed to get into this mess.

~TBC~


	2. Definition

The Brigadier sat with his back straight against the wall, watching his captors warily. They'd been taken to a small cell after a thirty minute ride in the back of a van. It wasn't any place the Brigadier recognized, though he'd kept a keen eye out for ways he could escape.

Of course, the Master was unhelpfully out cold the whole time, making any escape attempt impossible. He could have just left the Master, but while the Master might have had no problem with that had their positions been reversed, the Brigadier couldn't condone just leaving him. If he'd had the connections he had back in his own time, the Brigadier might have chanced running away in order to come back for a rescue attempt. He didn't know anyone here, however, and he couldn't risk losing the Master in this unfamiliar London. He was one old man against many soldiers and he'd need the Master's help to not only get out of this, but to get back to his own time.

They'd taken his cane away as well as his gun and walking was painful without it. He ignored the pain though, refusing the soldier's offer to help. Their captors had so far been completely silent on the reasons for their captivity as well. In short, he'd learned nothing of use for when the Master finally did wake up.

They'd both been thrown into the cell unceremoniously, their captors not even bothering to put the Master on one of the benches. They pushed him in and he'd have fallen to the floor had the Brigadier not caught him. When they saw a figure of authority around here, the Brigadier was going to have a few words with them on the treatment of prisoners. He managed to move the Master to one of the benches before settling himself down on the one against the opposite wall. It wasn't very comfortable, but until either the soldiers gave in to his demands to see a superior officer or the Master woke up, there wasn't much else to do.

An hour and a half of waiting provided the former, if not the latter. A young lad entered the cell, Sergeant by the look of his uniform (if things hadn't changed from the Brigadier's time) and newly promoted given the nervous air he had about him. The Brigadier didn't stand to greet him, eying the dark youth with an impassiveness that made the young officer squirm. "Ah," the young man said, clearing his throat. "You are being charged with the illegal release of chronon energy inside a secure zone. You will be held by the United Intelligence Taskforce until-"

"We're being held by UNIT?" The Brigadier asked in surprise. "Good grief." They were several hundred years into Earth's future and UNIT still existed. He'd never thought it would last that long, to be still going in the twenty-fourth century. There was bound to be official alien contact by now, after all, so UNIT must have changed from its original mission. 

Those questions he could dwell on later. Right now he had a cell to get out of.

"Yes, sir, UNIT. If you know who-"

"I demand to see whoever is in charge here," the Brigadier ordered gruffly. Standing up to his full height, he was taller than the lad. That made intimidation even easier. "In my day, prisoners were treated with respect. Now, get to it and bring a finger print scanner. What are you waiting for, man?" He hoped that they still had his finger prints on file, at least in the historical databanks if nothing else.

"But... You-" the youth said, very flustered.

"With respect, soldier! I may be retired, but you should still show respect to a ranking officer."

"Yes, Sir!" the Sergeant said, saluting smartly out of habit before he knew what was going on. A scandalized expression crossed his face was he realized he just took orders from a prisoner. Scrambling out of the cell as quickly as possible, the Sergeant didn't look back at the strange prisoner.

In the cell, the Brigadier smiled to himself. Yes, he still had it. No question on that.

Ten minutes later, a gruffer man came in the cell, followed by the original Sergeant. This one carried a lot more authority in his shoulders, Colonel by the stripes on his uniform. Definitely career military, early forties and sporting a thick mustache that the Brigadier heartily approved of. "Who are you, thinking you're in charge around here?" the man growled.

The Brigadier frowned, wishing he had his cane to tap against the floor. "It's generally polite to introduce yourself first."

"You're a prisoner of UNIT and you will respond to whatever question is put to you!" The Brigadier didn't back down from the Colonel as the man advanced on him, not imitated by the show of anger. The Brigadier was far too well versed in such tactics and didn't think this man was nearly as good at them as a commanding officer should be. 

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he said finally, eyes slipping over to the Sergeant who was holding a PDA-like device in his hands. "Is that the finger print scanner? How does it work? And can you cross reference it to historical records of the twentieth century?"

"It should do... It's really simple, Sir. You just-"

"Sergeant Kotoky, you are not to speak with the prisoner!" The Colonel barked as he held out his hand for the finger scanner. Sergeant Kotoky hastily handed it over, scrambling back with a quiet 'Yes, Sir' and his head down. "This will tell us who you are, even if you won't," the Colonel said with a malicious grin that the Brigadier didn't like. 

When prompted, the Brigadier put his finger on the pad with little fuss. It only took a second for the machine to get the prints and the Colonel passed the PDA-device back to Sergeant Kotoky who waited for the machine to come up with results. "What are you and him doing here?" the Colonel asked brusquely, crossing his arms in front of his chest in a threatening manner.

"We were here because someone in this area is messing about with time." It was a long shot as to whether they would believe him or not, but he only had to wait until his finger prints came up on the scanner to prove his claim. 

"And how do we know you aren't the ones messing about with-"

"Colonel Williams!" the Sergeant said, his eyes growing wide at the information on the hand held device.

"Not now, Sergeant!" The Colonel snapped, much to the Brigadier's disapproval. It was rapidly becoming clear to him that this man ran his unit through fear and intimidation - two qualities not known for breeding true loyalty. 

"But Colonel Williams, look at who he is!" the Sergeant said excitedly, pushing the scanner up for the man to see.

Williams snorted, looking up at the Brigadier and back down at the information in disbelief. "It's some sort of trick, it is. He wanted to be scanned, so it's gotta be a trick."

"I think you'll find it's no trick, Colonel Williams," the Brigadier said stiffly, wanting to get out of this cell. "I suggest you let us out of here so we can finish what we came here for."

"Look at the pictures, Sir! It _is_ him, Brigadier Sir Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart!" Kotoky said with awe filling his eyes.

Williams just looked all the more annoyed. "That's impossible," he scoffed. "The founder of UNIT died hundreds of years ago."

"And he's here now," an annoyed voice said from the other bench. The Brigadier looked over to see the Master had woken up and was not happy with the circumstances he found himself in. "The marvels of time travel. Are we done here? I want to get this over with."

"And who are you then, another man from the past?" Colonel Williams asked with a snarl.

"Time travel..." the young Sergeant said, eyes getting wider. "If that's true, than you must be the Doctor!"

"Don't be daft, Sergeant Kotoky!" The Colonel went on berating the Sergeant, so he didn't see how tense the Master got at the name.

"Easy now, old chap," the Brigadier said gently, but the Master ignored him, staring at the wall with a frightening expression in his eyes. 

The Sergeant was star-struck enough that he lost his fear of the Colonel entirely. "It's him, isn't it? Colonel, they were found near a blue box, the Corporal said! It has to be them! Look, the DNA and blood matches and everything!" The Brigadier was quite surprised when the young man pushed past the Colonel to shake his hand enthusiastically. "Sir Alistair, it's an honor, Sir! I'm terribly sorry about how you and the Doctor have been treated..."

"Respect for your commanding officer, Sergeant," the Brigadier reprimanded lightly. The young man looked sheepish, chiming another 'yes, Sir' and a quick apology to Colonel Williams for his rudeness. "And there is the matter of our capture," the Brigadier said, turning a less friendly look of reproach on Williams. It was his men that captured them, no doubt about it. The lack of discipline and courtesy had been appallingly telling. 

Right now though, there were more pressing matters. "And he's not the Doctor. He's... from the same race as the Doctor, but it's not him." The Brigadier paused, unsure of how to introduce the Master. That name was far too conspicuous and probably still on file and flagged as dangerous, along with most of his previous aliases that the Master had used over the years. 

"Koschei," the Master said flatly, still staring at the wall. "That's my name. That's all you need to know. Now can we get on with this?"

"Yes, quite. I'm assuming if you believe us, you'll let us go now?" The Brigadier asked, looking straight at Williams. It all depended how much faith they were willing to put in their technology. He waited tensely as Williams glared at him but finally nodded. For once, the Brigadier was glad of over-reliance on technology, since no one seemed inclined to dispute the computer's facts.

"Here's your cane, Sir!" Kotoky said, pushing his way back into the room. The Brigadier accepted the cane, feeling much better with it back at his side as he stood up. He wasn't usually a sentimental sort of person, but it wasn't just a physical feeling of something to take his weight. It had almost become an old friend. 

Williams stood in the way of the cell door with a sour expression. Before the confrontation could begin, however, the Master pushed through him, ignoring the Colonel completely as he walked down the corridor as if he owned the place. The Brigadier followed after him, hiding his amusement from the fuming Williams and the stunned Kotoky. 

"What's important that's happening right now?" the Master asked, spinning around to face the two UNIT officers sharply. 

"I don't see why we should-"

"Because if we don't find the fracture point, all of time ends in an instant," the Master said with a sneer. The Brigadier raised his eyebrows, but didn't comment on the Master's exaggeration. He hadn't, after all, been all that concerned while it had been just them in the TARDIS. The Master advanced on Williams, looking intimidating despite being a head shorter than Williams. "Bang! All your fault. Time and space, all gone, because you wouldn't tell me about the world's current events that anyone could know by picking up a newspaper. Is this making any sense in that tiny little brain of yours or do I have to explain it using even smaller words? BANG!"

Williams took a step back in surprise as the Master shouted, glaring as he realized what the Time Lord had forced him to do. Before he could start an argument, however, Sergeant Kotoky was only too willing to impress his new heroes. "There's the President's speech, Sir," he said, looking to the Brigadier for approval. Once the Brigadier nodded, he continued. "We've been hearing news of a potential assassination attempt while she's on her official visit here, which is why everyone is so jumpy."

"Which president?" the Master asked, turning to face Kotoky and dismissing Williams in the same motion. 

Williams fumed, but silently. The Brigadier kept an eye on him for trouble as Kotoky looked surprised by the question. "It's President Esperanza Mendez."

The Master looked blankly at the man, the name not ringing a bell. "She doesn't sound important," he said finally, not looking entirely certain on the matter. "Anything else that's going on?"

"There's the talks of shutting down the mines and elections are coming up soon?" Kotoky offered helpfully.

"Well?" the Brigadier asked, staring at the Master expectantly.

"Not everyone is as fascinated as the Doctor was with all eras of human history," the Master snapped. "I usually only started reconnaissance on a period when I got there and since we were kidnapped by these buffoons, I haven't had the chance to do that yet. I need the TARDIS databanks and a news feed."

The Brigadier nodded, realizing the sense that made. "Then we'll need to get back to the TARDIS." 

"You mean the blue box, Sir? A squad just brought that in," Kotoky said, still eager to please. "It really is an honor to have both of you here helping us, Sir Alistair."

"Is that so?" he asked. Smiling, the Brigadier wondered just what the files said about him to get this sort of reaction. Probably over-exaggerated PR, no doubt.

The Master rolled his eyes, looking disgusted at the whole thing. "TARDIS. Now. Before I die from gagging."

"Yes, Sir! It's right this way, Sir!" Kotoky lead them down the corridor, making up for Williams' lack of enthusiasm. Williams himself had made a surprisingly discreet exit, but unless he actively barred their process the Brigadier didn't need to worry about wounded egos of bad officers.

The familiar blue police box looked even more out of place in this high tech UNIT HQ filled with computers and futuristic lab equipment than it had ever been in his own time. It was being moved by a group of soldiers who were directed by a very efficient and solemn looking woman. She looked a bit familiar, though the Brigadier couldn't place the resemblance. Sergeant Kotoky saluted her as they approached and she waved the men to stop. "Captain Benton, this is Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. _The_ Sir Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart! He's come with this man from the past to-"

"Captain Benton?" the Brigadier asked, finally placing the semblance. Yes, she did have John Benton's nose. His eyes too, surprisingly enough. 

"That's impossible though, isn't it?" she asked, looking suspiciously at him and the Master.

The Master currently didn't have any patience to deal with disbelief. He pushed past all of them, shoving the key into the TARDIS door. The door, however, refused to budge. Pushing the key a few times, the Master cursed and kicked the door, shouting abuse at the blue box as Kotoky explained to Captain Benton what was going on. 

Putting his amazement at the young woman aside, the Brigade focused on the Master. "Is the key damaged?" he asked, coming to stand by the Master.

"She won't let me in!" the Master said, glaring at the police box as though his will alone could open the door. "The stupid thing doesn't trust me not to just take off again! I did that on one of the planets and she hasn't forgiven me."

Considering the situation, the Brigadier placed his hand on the door thoughtfully. "It's just a matter of trust?"

"No, she's offended by our fashion sense. Why else would the bitch lock me out like this?" the Master hissed furiously.

The Doctor had always talked about the TARDIS as a living being. He also talked that way about Bessie, however, so the Brigadier had never paid it much mind. If the TARDIS was capable of trust as the Master said though, she was probably a lot more than just a machine. It wouldn't be the oddest thing he'd seen with the Doctor and he'd learned over the many years of working with the Time Lord to simply accept the impossible explanation. Saved a lot of time, trouble and frustration on the Doctor's part and a lot of confusion on his. 

Feeling a little awkward at what he was about to do, the Brigadier cleared his throat and tapped against the door politely. "I'll look after him and keep him from leaving, if that's what you're worried about, Ma'am," he said stiffly, much to the Master's surprise.

Just like that, the door popped open. Well. At least he hadn't made a damned fool of himself, talking to a wooden box. The Master was muttering again under his breath about something that sounded suspiciously like "She always had a thing for _you_ ," but the Brigadier really had no idea what to make of that implication. A sentient ship he could handle, but one that fancied him... He was a married man, after all.

He followed the Master inside, much to the chagrin of Captain Benton and Sergeant Kotoky. "Wait! You can't go in..." Captain Benton yelled as she and Kotoky followed in after them. They both stopped, staring around them in awe and wonder at the world inside the police box. 

"It's..." Kotoky started, his mouth hanging open. "It's... It's _bigger_."

"Yes, it's bigger on the inside," the Master snapped, his fingers flying over the console as he switched on the monitor. For a brief moment, the Doctor's body was on the screen, but he quickly switched it over to a local news channel.

It wasn't like any sort of news program that the Brigadier had ever seen, but the Master seemed to understand it all, looking up every so often as he browsed through the text of information on another monitor. The Brigadier wouldn't even begin to know what to look for, so he sat down on the bench to rest his leg. 

The two UNIT officers slowly made their way over, still in shock over the dimensions inside the time machine. Time to jolt them out of it. "You are both officers of UNIT," he said with a carefully raised eyebrow. "Stop gawking and go back to your duties."

Sergeant Kotoky's cheeks colored and he hastily excused himself to find the Colonel. Captain Benton, on the other hand, saluted to him. "I'm in charge of keeping an eye on the... on the blue box, Sir." 

That suited the Brigadier very well, actually, since it gave him a chance to talk to her. "Very well then, keep an eye on it." He gave her a smile that she hesitantly returned. "Captain Benton, was it? What do you know of your family history?"

"Well, Sir," she said shyly, glancing up at him then over to the Master who was pointedly ignoring both of them. The Brigadier motioned for her to go on. If the Master yelled at them for being disruptive, the Brigadier had more than enough practice at handling an irate Time Lord. She continued on without further prompting. "I know my family has worked at UNIT for generations. My Great-Grandfather made colonel, but most of my family didn't get much higher than a sergeant."

The Brigadier nodded in approval, knowing UNIT was in good hands. "When I first started UNIT, there was a young man, a Sergeant John Benton, who served under me. He was one of the best officers I know and a damned good man in a tight spot. It's good to know there's still a Benton working at UNIT."

At this, Captain Benton's eyes widened and she saluted him again. "Thank you, Sir Alistair! I'll do my best to live up to my ancestors."

"Just Alistair please, Captain Benton," the Brigadier said. He'd never quite gotten used to the 'Sir' in front of his name and all that knighting business had been a lot more pomp and circumstance than he ever really wanted.

Captain Benton nodded, though she was still a little bit star struck around him. He doubted he would be called anything more than 'Sir' from here on out, but that that kind of 'Sir' suited him just as well. She looked back over to the Master, who was muttering to himself absently as he searched. "Is he the Doc-"

"No, I'm afraid he's not," the Brigadier said, cutting her off with an apology as he kept his voice low. "He's another Time Lord like the Doctor. Though he's... right now, he's really trying to help. I suppose that's what matters."

It still didn't quite sit right, that he was helping the Master, of all people. The Master was the only one who could figure out what was going wrong and fix it, however, and if he stopped being an evil megalomaniac in the mean time it was all the better. He had some long overdue years of community service to go through. 

"Where is the Doctor then?" Captain Benton asked, following his lead and keeping her voice down. "This is his-"

"You. Whatever-your-name-is," the Master snapped, his eyes fixed on the screen. "Who is this woman?"

Captain Benton didn't take offense to the Master's rude manner, looking over at the screen obediently. A worried expression crossed her face as she saw who it was. "That's the President, Sir. She's here for the next week to give a public address and open a few orphanages in part of her Investing in the Future program. We've been getting reports of an assassination attempt for the past month."

"Is it her?" the Brigadier asked, studying the woman carefully. She had a good chin. Leaders needed strong chins and he approved of the look of her. Platforms and campaign promises were naturally the most important thing when considering who to vote for, but he always thought a leader needed to look the part as well.

The Master stared at the woman on the screen, carefully taking stock of her as well. "It has to be. The fracture is wrapping around her so tightly it'll snap if we aren't careful." The Brigadier hadn't realized that sort of thing was visible from a television feed, but he accepted it as the Master quickly typed a few words into the databanks. Hazel eyes slid quickly over the words that came up as he went on. "Why is she important though? And is whoever that's messing around with time trying to kill her or save her?"

"If they are trying to save her, isn't that a good thing, Sir?" Benton asked.

The Master gave her a cutting look, but she wasn't imitated by him, the Brigadier noted with approval. "You apes have no concept of _time_. There are events that are fixed in history and can't be changed. The rest of time is constantly in flux and can change if someone wants to go around saving people like he's got nothing better to do." Like the Doctor, the Brigadier surmised due to the scoffing tone the Master spoke with. 

"Some things, though, can't be changed," the Master continued. "They're _fixed_. Change it and then the web of time starts to fall apart. If her death averts a major war that destroys all of humanity, do you still want to save her?"

Captain Benton didn't have an answer to that and neither did the Brigadier. She stood there, looking conflicted as the Brigadier wondered if the Doctor ever had to deal with such a moral problem. There was no clear answer to it, no right or wrong that could tell you what the morally good choice was. 

"How do you know that, Sir?" she asked, after a few moments, still reeling from the thought. Her voice held a hint of accusation, like he was just making it up to torment her. "How do you know when an event is 'fixed' or not? How do you expect us to believe you, if you say the President has to die?"

The Master wheeled on her, advancing until he was up in her face and glaring into her eyes. "Because that's who I am," he said with a dangerous undertone in his voice. "That's how I see things, every single day, all the time. Every single _second_ I see what could have been, what should have been and what must be in a way that your tiny human minds can't even begin to comprehend. I can _feel_ the Earth turning beneath us, hurtling through space at 107,300 kilometers per hour around the sun. Your pathetic ape senses can't even _begin_ to see the world as I do."

"M-Koschei," the Brigadier said warningly. The name didn't sound quite right when he said it, but he didn't think his mispronunciation of the word was what caused the Master to look up in surprise. With one final glare at Benton, he backed down and went back to the TARDIS databanks. 

The Brigadier patted Benton on the back as she relaxed, letting out the breath she'd been holding while the Master had been close. It was both good and a little disturbing to know that the Master would listen to him. It meant the Master could be kept in check, but why the Brigadier had to be the one to do it...

"She's not supposed to die," the Master announced finally, a bit more subdued. "Not yet, anyway. The fixed point is about ten years from now, when she dies to save the Draconian prince during a shooting. Changes the whole of history and the Draconians adopt her daughter to honor her sacrifice. It starts a new age of trade and peace that will last for a few hundred years. Meaning it's all peace and flowers. That should please you." Though the Master didn't sound overly thrilled with the revelation himself.

"So that means whoever is trying to kill her now must be stopped. Someone who doesn't like these 'Draconian' fellows?" the Brigadier asked, nodding to himself. At least the question of morality could wait to be answered later. 

"Doesn't matter who's doing it," the Master said, angrily flicking a few buttons. "We just need to stop them."

"And how do we do that?"

"It's someone trying to change time," the Master said thoughtfully, still reading through the database. "Time wouldn't be fracturing otherwise and we could leave it to UNIT to stop the attack since we know they would succeed. It's someone who has been here for a while too, if you've been hearing about it for at least a month. That makes the devices you used to track the TARDIS when it appeared useless." The Master pulled out some paper from the pocket of his hoodie and started scribbling on it in words the Brigadier could barely make out. "I should be able to rig up a primitive tracking device that should search out anachronisms. I'll need to get access to all the security measures of the speech and UNIT's files on the threats so far."

Captain Benton looked to the Brigadier for approval and he nodded to her after a few seconds of thought. Letting the Master have access to such confidential matters was against his better judgment, but it was their best hope right now. "This way, Sir. I'll take you to Colonel Williams to get the security access."

The Master scowled at the name, but started to follow after her. He stopped at the door, looking back to the Brigadier who hadn't moved from his chair. "Aren't you coming?"

"I'm too old for all this running around," the Brigadier said, waving him off. "I'm retired, you know. Go on. I'll catch you up once things are more settled."

It was so brief that the Brigadier almost thought he'd imagined it, but he thought there was a flash of uncertainty and pleading in the Master's hazel eyes. It was gone as quickly as it appeared though and the Master walked out without another word and slammed the door behind him.

Why the devil did the Master keep looking to him for guidance? The Brigadier sighed, still not sure what he was doing here, going off on some crazy adventure at his age to help a reforming, mass-murdering, and evil megalomaniac.

He was about to go see about the security arrangements for the speech when an image flickered to life on the console. A projection of some sort, though much more advanced than any the Brigadier had seen before. The projection stepped forward, revealing the image of the man he'd seen dead on the monitor, except not nearly as dead as the Brigadier had last seen him. The Doctor? Though he didn't show any outward sign of it, the Brigadier felt hope surge up at the sight of his old friend. Perhaps the Doctor really wasn't dead.

"Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart! Oops, it's Sir Alistair now, isn't it? Good for you! Good for brilliant old you," the image of the Doctor grinned broadly, rocking back on his heels as he looked straight at the Brigadier. 

"Doctor, you have quite a bit of explaining to do," the Brigadier said, putting annoyance in his tone to cover the relief he felt. "Do you have any idea what-"

"If you're seeing this," the Doctor continued, cutting him off and growing more solemn. "It means I'm probably dead. I've been told it was coming soon and..." The Doctor trailed off, briefly fighting a look of fear off his face.

The Brigadier felt his hopes being crushed. A recording. The Doctor really was dead. Seeing the recording of the dead man brought home that fact and the Brigadier felt his throat tighten at the thought. The Doctor in the projection collected himself with a shake and continued on, oblivious to the now wet Brigadier's eyes. "Well, hasn't happened yet. Still a chance, right? But if it does and you're seeing this, that means the Master's taken control of the TARDIS. I've programed her to subdue him a little before taking him to you. If he's still insane, well, I suppose you know what to do with him." The Doctor looked sad at this and just a little guilty. "Lock him up the best you can. I know you'll make sure he's treated fairly. If I've managed to fix him though... I hope you'll look after him."

"Why me, Doctor?" he asked the projection, knowing it couldn't hear him but unable to help the question.

The projection kept talking regardless, not taking note of the Brigadier's bafflement and sorrow. "I know it's asking a lot of you, especially after everything he's done, but I've been digging around since I heard the prophesy that said he'd knock four times. I don't think this was all his fault, Brigadier." The projection paused, running a hand through that already wild hair. "He used to be a good friend of mine and he wasn't always like this. I'd like to think there's still some good in him. If there is, I know I can count on you to help him find it. I know we haven't always gotten along, Alistair, but you're one of the best men I've ever had the honor of meeting. I wouldn't have worked under anyone else during my exile to Earth. You're one of my best and dearest friends, Alistair, and I know I couldn't be leaving him in better hands. Thank you, Brigadier. I knew I could count on you."

The projection flickered out of existence after the Doctor gave him a lazy salute. The Brigadier wiped his eyes and shook his head. The Doctor was a good man, all of them. "I don't know what you're expecting of me, Doctor, but I'll make sure he doesn't get into trouble again," he said to no one in particular. He didn't believe in ghosts after all, but he hoped the Doctor knew what he was doing.

* * *

The next day the Master was out in the city with Sergeant Kotoky, looking for people that didn't belong in this time period. The Brigadier had settled himself in rather nicely, looking over the security detail and offering his advice. UNIT's mission may have changed since aliens were common knowledge now, but the running of UNIT was still basically the same. It was comforting to fall right back into familiar routines, even if he wasn't the one in charge any longer.

The Brigadier frowned at the file in front of him, looking over at Colonel Williams with no small amount of anger. "This man, Private Thomas. You've got him on duty during the speech, guarding the western side."

"Yes," Williams said, looking up from his paper work. "Is there a problem with that?" 

"Is there a problem?" The Brigadier asked, frowning at the man's incompetence. Not even a mustache made up for this level of inadequacy. "He shouldn't even be on active duty. According to this file, he's got outstanding gambling debts and you're putting him on security duty for the President?"

Williams narrowed his eyes, twitching and twisting his pen in his hands. "He's a good man. What are you trying to imply with that?"

"Imply? Good grief, man, he's a walking security breach!" Out of the corner of his eye, the Brigadier saw the Master walk by the door. The Master stopped and hung around just outside, but he didn't try to catch the Brigadier's eye so the Brigadier went back to upbraiding Williams. "Anyone could walk up and blackmail him through those debts."

"He's completely trustworthy-"

"He's a hole in your security detail." Bringing his hand down on the table, the Brigadier quickly lost most of the patience he had for this hide-bound idiot. "Either take him off active duty or I'll take this to your superior officer."

For a moment, Williams looked like he was about to snap at the Brigadier. He calmed down a few seconds later though, reaching for something in his desk. "Fine. I'll go do it now, _Sir_ ," he said acidly. Standing up, Williams exited the room, rudely brushing past the Master.

Surprisingly enough, the Master didn't take offense. He stood there watching after Williams before coming in the room. "I don't trust him," he said by way of greeting.

The Brigadier raised his eyebrows. Williams was a fool and a stubborn one at that, but he didn't doubt the man's loyalty. Just the abilities of the superior officers that had promoted the idiot. "What makes you say that?"

"Because he's not the type to calm down and not yell your head off for that." Making a brief scan around the room, the Master walked over to Williams' desk despite the Brigadier's protests for the man's privacy. He bent over, looking under the desk with a frown before pulling open the drawers. 

"What exactly are you looking for?" the Brigadier asked, resigned to the invasion of privacy as he continued browsing through the personnel files and making suggested corrections on the roster. On paper, though he'd been given strange looks at the request. He couldn't help it, but the Brigadier couldn't think properly using those little hand held devices. Paper was much more soothing to him, even if it was more cumbersome.

The Master didn't answer at first, giving a disgusted look to an old banana that had been in one of the drawers. "Williams did something when he was sitting here. I heard a click," he said finally, getting down on his hands and knees to search under the desk.

"Age has been a bit kinder to your sense of hearing," the Brigadier said, though he had noticed Williams doing something behind the desk. 

The Master's voice was muffled under the desk, but still understandable. "I know he did some..." the Master trailed off and suddenly Williams' chair was pushed back with a great force as the Master scrambled out from under the desk. "Brigadier, get out!"

"What?" he asked, searching for his cane as he gathered the files together. "What the blazes is going on?"

The Brigadier barely had time to grab his cane as the Master hauled him to his feet and started to drag him to the door. "There's a bomb under the desk," the Master said tersely. "We've got to get out of here before it-"

The bomb, for indeed there was one, went off without further warning. The Brigadier felt himself being thrown to the floor and held there as the Master shielded him. The force of the blast nearly caused him to blank out, but he heard the Master cry out in pain as he clutched at the Brigadier's back. The Brigadier held on to consciousness stubbornly, because the Master probably wouldn't be the only one in need of medical attention. 

After a few tense moments of his ears ringing from the noise, the Master pulled off of him, hissing in pain. "Are you alright?" the Brigadier asked, taking in what he could of the damage. It looked like the room they had just left had been completely destroyed. Thankfully, the bomb had been small and the rest of the building was still standing.

The Master waved him off, clutching at his shoulder in pain. "Just a bit of shrapnel," he said, gritting his teeth. 

The smoke was settling around them and they weren't safe yet. The walls could still collapse. "Come on," the Brigadier said, using his cane to stand up. He gathered the papers he'd managed to grab before being dragged off, since they might be important now that they knew Williams was an enemy agent. Then he helped the Master to his feet, letting the Time Lord lean against him as they walked further away from the blast site and the smoke. He spared a brief thought to the people who might have been in the room next door, but he was only an old man and wouldn't be able to carry people out as he might have done when he was younger. The Master needed medical attention and was someone he could help now.

He could tell the Master wasn't happy with the arrangement, but he was a lot more worse off than just that piece of shrapnel and he didn't have much choice in the matter. It did leave the Brigadier with some food for thought, however. Why had the Master saved him? Telling him that the bomb was there was one thing and even dragging him out the Brigadier could see. But the Master shielding him didn't make much sense. The Master simply cared too much for his own skin to put his life on the line to save someone else.

They'd not gone a few yards before Sergeant Kotoky ran up, taking the Brigadier's place at helping the Master walk. Captain Benton was close on his heels. "Are you alright, Sir?" she asked as she came to a halt in front of them.

The Brigadier nodded, looking back the way they came. "I'm alright, thanks to him. There might still be wounded people back there though." She didn't look like she wanted to leave them, however, so the Brigadier straightened and used his best drill sergeant voice. "State your duty, soldier!"

"To serve and protect, Sir!" she yelled back with a salute. She ran past them, only turning back once to make sure they were still making their way out. He gave her a reproachful look, smiling to himself once she'd gone. She was a good officer, that one. John Benton would be proud.

"Do you have a radio, Sergeant?" the Brigadier asked as more people rushed towards them to help with the wreckage. 

"A radio, Sir?" Kotoky asked, looking very confused at the term. 

"A phone," the Master snapped, glaring at them both as if they were idiots. "A direct line to your superior officers. Something to call for help with, you idiot!"

"Oh, yes, Sir!" Kotoky pointed to his ear piece. "I've already called for help."

"Call in again and tell them not to let Colonel Williams off the premises," the Brigadier ordered. "He's the one who set the bomb, Sergeant. We can't let him get away."

"Colonel Williams? But he-"

"Just do it!" the Master yelled, losing what little patience he had. Kotoky nodded, relaying the orders.

Things went by in a blur of activity after that. The Brigadier stayed with the Master until some of the higher ups arrived, then he gave his evidence against Williams. The man hadn't even tried to run yet, assuming his witnesses would be killed by the blast. Unfortunately, he was dead within a few hours of capture, making interrogation impossible. 

The next two days the Master spent recovering. His tracking device ended up being rather useless, because whoever it was had been in this time period for too long to set off the counter. He'd been right next to Williams, after all, and it hadn't gone off. Either that, or whoever it was behind all of this had used contacts from this time period rather than doing their dirty work themselves. Thankfully though, without Williams to set up security holes for them, they had a lot harder job to pull off now. 

Captain Benton took over the security detail. She was a little inexperienced in the administration side of guard duty, but the Brigadier helped her map out a much better plan than Williams had by giving his advice freely. The Master even came in and gave a few pointers. Despite his personality flaws that had originally put off most of UNIT, he was now warmly received, much to the Master's own surprise. The Brigadier had to hide a smile at that, when the Master's snapped response was greeted by a grin from Benton. The Master hadn't expected that saving the Brigadier would endear him to the rest of UNIT who still didn't know his past.

The day of the big speech arrived and the Brigadier was privately very proud of the arrangements. They were as prepared as they were ever going to be. The Master paced restlessly beside him in the private VIP room they'd been given a small distance from the platform where the President and her guests would sit. "You might as well take a seat. You used to have more patience than this," the Brigadier said.

"I used to be the one planning these sorts of things, not trying to prevent them," he growled, though he did take a seat next to the Brigadier. "It's not working."

"The security?" the Brigadier asked, though he got the impression that the Master was taking about something else. Still, he couldn't exactly guess at it if the conversation were completely non sequitur.

"My _name_ ," the Master said, nervous energy barely contained in the Master's body. "Koschei this, Koschei that. I'm not Koschei anymore."

Not sure what the Master wanted him to do about it the Brigadier looked over at him curiously. "You chose it," he said with a raised eyebrow. 

"I thought..." the Master closed his eyes, pressing his lips together as he tried to figure out what he was trying to say. Just as quickly, he snapped his eyes open and started tinkering with the chronon reader device he'd made. The Brigadier almost thought the subject was dropped entirely, but the Master started speaking again softly. "I thought that without the drums, I might be Koschei again. But I'm not. The Doctor took them from me and now I don't... I don't know anymore."

The Brigadier pat his back absently, not entirely sure what to say. He wasn't very good at all this metaphysical contemplation. To him, the Brigadier would always be himself and those around him didn't dispute the fact. The Master was a Time Lord though and a special case at that. "You are someone who was touched by the Doctor," the Brigadier said finally. "You always have been, even though you twisted that to suit yourself."

"I didn't want to be," the Master said, setting the machine aside as he curled up on the bench with his hands over his head. The President was taking the stage, but the Brigadier paid her no mind. UNIT was taking care of security and they would make sure things ran smoothly. The Brigadier was far too old to start worrying about this sort of thing again. 

The Master was his responsibility now though, so he listened as the Master kept talking. "I never wanted to be. I just wanted power and knowledge... I was _happy_ before he came along. I didn't want the drums and I didn't want to be 'touched' or whatever you call it by the Doctor."

"I don't think I wanted to be either," the Brigadier said, leaning back against the bench. The Master looked up at him in surprise, but the Brigadier remained stoic. It was the truth. How much easier would his life have been if he'd just gone into a normal branch of the military? In fact, if he hadn't met the Doctor he wouldn't be in this mess. He'd have just turned the Master in and have been done with it, happily so. But at the same time... "I think we're both better for it though. Things would have been a lot duller around here without him. If you're looking for a way to define yourself, why not just use 'someone who knew the Doctor' for now until you can find something better?"

The Master scowled, but he looked slightly less miserable than he had before. "I don't need anyone else to define me," he said, more for the argument's sake than to actually dispute the fact. "I won't-"

The machine beside him came to life, bleeping insistently with an ominous rhythm. "Someone just jumped in? How stupid are they?" the Master asked, jumping up as he grabbed the device. Looking out over the crowd, the Brigadier tried to see if anything was different as the Master fiddled with the controls. 

The President was mid-way through her speech, but he couldn't see anyone else who could attack her. The Master's eyes widened and he pushed the Brigadier aside as he looked to the platform. "They've jumped right under it..." He pressed the ear piece that UNIT had provided them, nearly shouting into the receiver. "Get the President out of there! There's confirmed time travel right under the platform and they could be planting a bomb or- Brigadier, where are you going?"

Panic crossed the Master's face, but the Brigadier still had other duties to perform. Leaving the safety of the room to go out into the crowd, he started directing as many people as he could away from the platform. He was vaguely aware of the President's speech halting as she was ushered away and the crowd started to rush out in panic. "Steady on," the Brigadier yelled out over the screams. "Stay calm, everyone. The exit is over this way. No, don't rush. We'll get you out."

The bomb went off several seconds later and the crowd grew into full fledged panic. Doing what he could to keep a riot from breaking out, the Brigadier found himself moving closer and closer to the platform as the crowd dispersed.

Fire was everywhere, but something small caught his eye above the smoke. A child trapped by the flames was being pushed against the collapsing platform. The Brigadier didn't think about what he was doing. He started to make a beeline for the child, heedless of the danger and the pain in his leg.

A hand caught his arm, however, and he was pulled around to face a furious Master. "Where do you think you're going?"

Bristling, the Brigadier didn't have time to deal with the Master. "There's a child trapped over there."

"Yes, I know. What of it?" The Brigadier didn't even grace that with an answer, simply leveling the Master with a look that sent chills down his spine. "You'll never make it in time," the Master tried again, a bit less flippantly. "That platform will kill you both! Leave her."

"Maybe you can do that, but I can't. I have a duty to protect people," the Brigadier said, shaking off the Master's hand. He started walking again, pushing past the Master who tried to get in front of him. "You have your duty and I have mine," he said finally, determined to at least save the child even if his own life would be forfeit. 

The Master grabbed his arm again, the panicked expression from earlier returning to his face. "You can't," he said simply, eyes pleading.

"Let me go," the Brigadier said, tapping his cane impatiently. He would use it against the Master if he had to, though he didn't want to.

Realizing this, the Master let go, taking a step back in fear. It wasn't fear of the Brigadier but... was it fear of losing the Brigadier? Before he could start towards the child again, however, the Master shook his head and pushed him back angrily. "Stay here," he hissed with a look of resigned disgust, taking off towards the child at a breakneck run. The Brigadier didn't even have time to protest.

"My daughter!" the woman he recognized as the President screamed, also making her way past the security that tried to push her out of the area. She was strong enough to break past the guards and started racing in the same direction as the Master.

The Brigadier caught her as she tried to run by. "Let me go!" she yelled, practically screaming at him. "My daughter is back there! I have to get to her!"

"Someone has already gone after her, Madame President," the Brigadier said calmly, holding her steady. "There's nothing to do but wait."

The President looked up at him, no longer the calm, collected woman he had seen on the newscasts. Her hair was out of its neat bun, sticking up every which way and her clothes were tattered and torn with scorch marks spotting the fabric. She also had a bad burn across her cheek that looked like it needed medical attention. She wasn't a leader right now. She was a frantic mother, desperately looking at him in need of reassurance. 

"If anyone can do it, he can," the Brigadier said finally as the guards caught up to her. It was a good thing too, because the platform collapsed in a cloud of smoke behind him. They had to help hold her back as she screamed.

The Brigadier searched the smoke anxiously, waiting for a miracle. If it were the Doctor, the Brigadier would have counted on such a thing. The man had an impossible streak of luck and an inability to quit when the lives of others were at stake. But the Master... 

The Master was walking out of the smoke, looking a little singed and carrying a coughing seven year old child. The Doctor wasn't the only one who could command a miracle, it seemed.

Released by the awed guards, the President rushed forward. She took the child from him, crying and kissing both the girl and the Master as she thanked him. "I'll never forget this," she said quietly, once she'd calmed down. The Master looked over at her. He'd mostly been ignoring her, but something in her voice commanded attention. "I'll remember what you've done today, Sir, for the rest of my life. Maybe one day I can repay this debt. Thank you."

Looking tired, the Master nodded. She would remember and save that prince the Master had spoken of, ultimately creating peace. The Brigadier motioned for the Master to follow back to UNIT HQ as the security guards took the President and her daughter away. They walked back in silence and even managed to slip into the TARDIS without the rest of UNIT staff noticing.

Once they got back, the Master collapsed into a chair, lounging against the back as he sprawled out lazily. The Brigadier remained standing, watching the Master thoughtfully. That was twice now, the Master had actively put his life at risk to save the Brigadier. Twice to prove that the first time hadn't just been an accident or act of madness on the Master's part. Which meant he was, for whatever reason, invested in keeping the Brigadier alive. It was an odd feeling, considering how many lives the Master had taken in the past, including several attempts that could have killed the Brigadier as well.

"What are you staring at?" the Master asked moodily.

Well, all this wondering about it wouldn't get the Brigadier any answers. It was time for the direct approach and a thorough cross-examination. "Why did you save me?" he asked, ignoring the Master's question. "You've saved me twice now. I'd like to know why."

The Master stiffened, the laziness falling from his body as icicles break and fall to the ground and he started to resemble a caged tiger. "Who said I was saving you?"

Unamused by this game, the Brigadier threw him a look of reproach. "You saved me once from the bomb, letting yourself get injured instead of that shrapnel potentially hitting me. You were willing to leave the child there until you realized _I_ was going in regardless. That sounds suspiciously like saving someone, if you ask me."

"I didn't ask you," the Master said with a scowl, which turned to a glare as the Brigadier resorted to a raised eyebrow. "Alright, I did ask. So shoot me. Are we done here? Don't you have your little army of soldiers to check up on?"

"You still haven't answered my question."

"I don't have anyone else to go to, alright?" the Master snapped, jumping up from the chair and advancing on the Brigadier once again. Just like the last time the Master had tried this tactic, however, the Brigadier simply remained impassive. "Is this twenty questions all the sudden? Why did _you_ want to save her then? You didn't even know her! You didn't know she was the President's daughter, so why?"

The Brigadier leaned against his cane, watching the Master calmly. Finally the Master took a step back, looking a bit more restrained. Nodding his head in thanks, the Brigadier answered his question. "I'm an old man. I've lived a long time and served as a soldier for most of it. I've long since decided to live my life to protect this world and its people and if it was a choice between my life and hers... I know where my duty lies."

"Is that why _he_ did it?" The aggression was gone from the Master's stance and he once again looked to the now blank monitor. 

Shaking his head, the Brigadier walked over to the chair the Master had vacated and sat down. The Doctor was another matter entirely. "He was more likely to run from duty than honor it. No, the Doctor saved people because he cared about them. He didn't just care about his friends or people he knew, but everyone."

"Well, I don't care," the Master said, crossing his hands over his chest. It was such a childish expression that the Brigadier nearly told him to stop this temper tantrum and go sit outside the class until he could behave properly. It was almost as bad as being transported back to his years as a teacher. "Don't expect me to do it again," the Master went on, glaring all the while.

The Brigadier would have shrugged had he been the sort of person given to such movements. Whether or not the Master cared wasn't his problem. So long as the Master wasn't taking lives or trying to take over the universe, his job was done. "Is the President safe now? Who was it that attacked anyway?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Who it was hardly matters now, since they probably went up with that bomb." Rolling his eyes, the Master went over to the console to check the readings. "The blip's gone. She's obviously safe for the next ten years. Now what? Everything's nice and happy and if it gets any sweeter my teeth will rot."

The Brigadier ignored the sarcasm. Responding to that would only encourage the Master and that was the last thing he needed. "Right now, I'm going to bed. If you've found another blip by the morning, we can chase after it then."

"Not going to stick around and be called a hero?" the Master asked and for once there was no malice or anger in his voice. Just plain curiosity, as if the Brigadier was a particularly rare and baffling native creature. 

"Ceremonies only get tiresome when you're my age." He'd never particularly needed thanks for what he did. It was just fulfilling his duty and that was thanks enough at the end of the day. Saying good-bye might be nice, but ultimately unnecessary. "What do you need with thanks when you're retired? You can go, if that's what you want." It mightn't be a bad idea either, if the Master realized some of the good he'd done. Also, the UNIT team here wouldn't be such a bad place for the Master, if he was looking for somewhere to stay awhile. They didn't know of the Master's past crimes and they'd all started acting fondly towards him after the first bomb.

The Master looked like he was considering it, but he finally shook his head. "I'll pass on the ape gratitude. Good-night, Brigadier. I'll find another blip for us later, for all the good it'll do."

The Master's face was sour, but the Brigadier noticed he was a lot more lively than he had been the night the Master had shown up on his doorstep. "And take care of those burns," the Brigadier called out after him, making his way to the rooms he'd claimed as his own in the TARDIS. The Brigadier sighed to himself, wondering if it weren't too late to find a way out of this mess. "I hope you know what you're doing, Doctor."

~TBC~


	3. New Life

After staying with the Master for three more 'blip-hunts', the Brigadier finally asked to be taken home. The Master had made quite a bit of progress, though he'd been sullen for a while after the Brigadier said he was ready to leave. "I'm an old man," the Brigadier said by way of explanation. "All this running around and saving time is the work for someone whose bones don't creak as much. You know where to find me if you need anything."

And so the Master did, dropping in at odd hours. He waited quietly with Doris if the Brigadier happened to be out and Doris had even grown quite fond of him. He turned up every week or two, simply to talk. Sometimes it was about what he'd been doing, sometimes about the Doctor. While the Master was far from a knight in shining armor and he still made a lot of mistakes, he was slowly learning to care about more than just a few people and things. There were many missteps, but the Master was making marked progress. He'd even saved a space ship recently, for no other reason than he could _and_ stopped by for Christmas with presents. 

It was still strange talking with the Master, but the Brigadier found it easier as time went on. He'd never have believed that the Master was a reformed criminal himself... sometimes he still didn't believe the scoundrel, but he definitely wasn't the man who ran for Prime Minister any more. Still moping over a lack of new name too, which the Brigadier only shook his head at when the Master wasn't looking.

Nearly a year passed of this unspoken arrangement between them. Finally, the Master came one afternoon, looking a lot more solemn than he had the last few visits. Doris had excused herself to go shopping, leaving the two of them alone to talk.

The Brigadier waited for the Master to speak. He'd long since realized it was useless to try and prompt the Time Lord when he wanted to talk about something, so he worked on the report for the last undercover mission UNIT had sent him on as the Master sat quietly across from him.

"I'm ready," the Master said finally after about ten minutes of idle chatter. "I want... I want to burn the Doctor's body."

"Is that so?" he asked. The Brigadier looked up, watching the Master carefully. He was a lot quieter in general than he had been that first night over a year ago. If he wasn't mistaken, the traveling had actually done the Master a lot of good towards healing his mind as well as his morals. He was still sour and sarcastic and just a bit of an arse if the Brigadier were going to put it _nicely_ , but he'd mellowed out quite a bit. 

Speaking of sarcasm... "No, I was just trying to see if you wanted to buy a bridge!" Mellowed, but still with a nasty temper. The Master glared at him sullenly, a bit of the old manic energy showing through as he got agitated. 

Again, the Brigadier wasn't sure why the Master had come to him. That was something he'd assumed the Master would want to do privately whenever he finally decided to let go. This time, however, the Brigadier was glad the Master came. It was one last chance to see the Doctor off and the Brigadier would be honored to stand watch. "Where were you thinking of burning the body?" he asked, a little gruffer than normal.

Calming down, the Master stared at his tea absently. "I thought about here on Earth, but... The Eye of Orion is where the memorial is and he always liked it there. Will you..."

The Brigadier nodded. "I suppose I have enough left in me for one more trip, if it's for the Doctor. I owe him that much."

It only took a few minutes for him to get ready and they were back in the TARDIS. The Master glared at the console, which hummed a bit happier when the Brigadier walked in. "I don't know what she sees in _you_ ," he said moodily. The Brigadier merely smiled, greeting the old girl politely as he'd taken to doing in his earlier trips. He wasn't one to argue if a sentient ship had taken a liking to him after all. Arguing with the insanity of the universe would only raise his blood pressure and the TARDIS did tend to make sure the ride wasn't as bumpy for him.

After setting the TARDIS in motion, the Master led him through the endless corridors into the heart of the ship. Though he knew that there was no such thing in the TARDIS, it still felt a bit like the Brigadier was going downward into some particularly pleasant cave. "What are you planning to do after this?" the Brigadier asked as they walked.

"More traveling," the Master said, a lost look entering his eyes that was gone within seconds. They might be burning the Doctor's body, but the Brigadier suspected that the Master still hadn't really come to terms with the Doctor's death. "I might go back... back to UNIT in the 24th century every so often. They weren't as bad as you lot were. Jessica just got a promotion too and she asked... she asked if I would stay with them for a while."

Jessica? The Brigadier raised his eyebrows. Since when had the Master been on first name basis with Benton's descendant? He couldn't help but feel a little worried for her, despite knowing she could take care of herself very well. Still, he was happy to hear she had gotten a promotion and UNIT would always welcome help from a Time Lord. "Still being called Koskey, or whatever it was?"

" _Koschei_. And no." The Master's eyes darkened for a moment, but he kept walking. "I told them a different name. I'm not Koschei anymore. Koschei still had the Doctor." If that made any sense, the Brigadier supposed, the Doctor would be part of the problem. The Doctor usually was.

They got to a door on the right and the Master paused, his hand on the door knob, but not turning it. "Is he in there?" the Brigadier asked.

The Master started, shoulders tensing as he pulled open the door violently. He ignored the question altogether, stepping into the room without waiting for the Brigadier to follow. The Brigadier sighed at the melodramatics as the door slammed shut. The Doctor had never been that bad. The Master could be awfully childish in this body and it reminded him constantly of a few of his students from when he'd taken up teaching math. The Brigadier had to remember that scolding the Master only made the man insufferably worse, so he didn't comment. He opened the door again to let himself through, mentally preparing himself for what he'd find in that room. 

When he walked in, the Master was at the controls of some machine. The Brigadier's eyes were automatically riveted, however, to the body laying on the bed. It was covered with some sort of translucent energy field that shimmered lightly the more he stared at it. The Doctor.

Through the field the Doctor lay still, completely frozen in time. The bruises and cuts he'd seen through the monitor over a year ago were even more noticeable. The Doctor's suit was in shambles, cut up and torn in every which way and his hair was mussed at uncontrollable angles. Not a face the Brigadier recognized. There was nothing to tell that this really was the Doctor, other than the Master's word, and it didn't even really feel like the Doctor. Just another body. This was the Doctor's TARDIS though and that couldn't be anyone but him.

Maybe it was just the field, but the Doctor almost looked as if he were still alive. Just like that old fairy story of the princess who slept waiting for the prince to wake her, surrounded by thorns. This was real life though, not a fairy tale. The Doctor was dead and seeing it with his own eyes after all this time...

The Brigadier reached out to the field, surprised to have his hand snatched back by the Master. "Don't touch it, you idiot! Not unless you want to have your hand frozen in time too."

"I thought you were supposed to be turning this machine off," the Brigadier said pointedly, not bothering to hide his own sorrow at seeing the body in front of him. 

The Master ignored him again, not looking at either the Brigadier or the body. He went back to flipping switches, steadily growing more agitated and nervous as he did. "We don't have to go through with this now," the Brigadier said a bit more gently. "He'll wait until you're ready."

The Master hesitated, his hand hovering over a switch as he shut his eyes. For a moment, the Brigadier thought he might just agree... then his eyes snapped open and he turned angrily to face the Brigadier. "I'm not living in his shadow any more. I'm not so weak that I can't burn the body of an old enemy!"

"I never said you were." Looking back down at the body in question, the Brigadier felt his heart break. Only one heart, but that was enough for him. He couldn't imagine what having two broken hearts must be like. This wasn't about what the Brigadier wanted though. Seeing an old friend off could wait until the Master was ready for it. "But you're also saying good-bye to an even older friend."

Advancing on the Brigadier, the Master got right in his face. The Brigadier no longer feared that the Master would hurt him, so the intimidation of this move was even less effective than it had been a year ago. "I don't _need_ to have a body taking up space on my TARDIS. I'm _fine_ with this."

The Brigadier gave him a look of reproach and the Master slowly backed away. He was well used to the Master's outbursts and he'd come to accept the Master's silent apologies after as part of their routine. The Master listened to him now for whatever reason, and that was usually enough to keep him in line, despite how the Brigadier still could never figure out why. "I am fine with it," the Master said again a bit calmer. 

The Brigadier nodded and the Master went back to working on the machine in silence. It was a few minutes more before the Master turned around. Flicking the last dial, they both watched the bubble-like shield slowly fade away.

He hadn't known what he was expecting. The Brigadier supposed even after all this time, he expected the Doctor to come up with some sort of miracle and walk away from this, as smug and impossible as ever. Even the Master seemed to be holding his breath, waiting for the Doctor to beat the odds once again.

However, neither of them were _really_ quite prepared to see the Doctor actually gasping for breath and coughing as the shield blinked from existence. It was one thing to hope for it and know it was impossible. It was quite another to actually watch the said impossible thing happen.

The Brigadier's shock broke first. He moved to the Doctor's side, helping the tall, lanky man sit up. After a few big, lungfuls of air, the Doctor turned to look at him with instant recognition in those intelligent brown eyes that the Brigadier had never been happier to see. "Brigadier!" the Doctor gasped, his lips breaking into a large grin. "Brilliant. This is brilliant. I knew you wouldn't let me dow- Oh. Ow. Didn't expect that." The Doctor winced, touching one of the cuts on his face that the smile had stretched. "Didn't expect to be alive. And you lot, I don't think you did either. Have I been dead long?"

"According to the Master, it's been nearly two years," the Brigadier said, smiling in spite of himself. The man was a damned nuisance at times, but the Brigadier had never been so glad to see the Doctor alive.

"The Master..." They both looked up to see a pale and trembling Master, looking like he had just seen a ghost. "Ah, there you are, hoodie and all," the Doctor said, grinning again. "Still alive? Well, that's no surprise. You've always been good at that. Had me worried there for a while, but-"

"You're _dead_ ," the Master said with a hoarse voice. "I saw you die. Your hearts stopped and nothing I did could get them to start again!"

Stretching, the Doctor winced again and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Yup," he said, popping the 'p'. "Well, I was. I _think_ the TARDIS gave me a jump start. A few years ago, I got stuck in a parallel world where the old girl wouldn't work. Gave her ten years of my life to jump start her and get us back home. I guess she gave them back. Still, it'd have taken a while to do the transfer. Probably... oh, two years?"

The Doctor sniffed as he babbled, dangling his feet over the side of the bed and smiling happily to himself. He missed the warning glance the Brigadier gave him as he tested out his body. "Oh, time stasis. No atrophy. Tingles a bit, but that's brilliant. Really brilliant. Still got a crick in my neck though. Not sure how that happened..."

"You were _dead_ ," the Master said again, starting to tremble more violently. Pulling a gun out from under his hoodie, he pointed it shakily at the Doctor. 

The Doctor grew much more serious at that. He stood up, taking a careful step toward the Master. "Master, why don't you put that-"

"Stay back!" The Doctor put his hands up in a motion to pacify and stayed where he was. His eyes flickered over to the Brigadier, who nodded. 

It was the Brigadier who took a step forward this time and spoke, drawing the Master's attention. "Just put the gun down."

The gun swung around to point at him, but the Brigadier kept moving forward despite the Doctor's warning. The Master's eyes hardened as his resolve steadied his hand. "I don't need _him_. I don't need an old man like you either! I'll go back to my own life. I don't need either of you!" The gun swung back around to the Doctor who had tried to take a step forward. "Stay where you are!"

The Brigadier continued walking forward calmly, not afraid of the gun that pointed at him every few seconds. He was counting on the Master to be thinking of all those nights they'd spent talking, all the times he'd saved the Brigadier's life. The Master had changed over the past year and he'd started to care. While that process wasn't complete yet, the Brigadier was willing to bet his life on it. And he was right. The Master didn't fire, looking more and more uncertain the closer the Brigadier got.

Finally, the Brigadier got close enough to side step the weapon and put his hand on the Master's, pushing the weapon down gently. The Master stubbornly refused to lower it though. "You know what he did to me! Why should I?" he asked angrily, looking back and forth from him and the Doctor. The Master was furious with both of them, though the Brigadier wondered if the person the Master was most angry with was himself. 

"I thought you didn't like to be alone," the Brigadier said gruffly. Perhaps he should have been gentler with the words, but it seemed to work regardless. The Master shut his eyes and let the Brigadier take the gun from him. "Good lad," he said approvingly. The Master gave him a tearful glare, but didn't say anything to it.

The Doctor came over to stand by the two of them once the gun was disposed of, looking fairly astonished at the whole thing. He reached out and ruffled the Master's hair fondly, testing the waters. Expecting the Master to snap again, it was the Brigadier's turn to be surprised as the Master just closed his wet eyes and allowed the touch. "Give us a few minutes," the Doctor asked, silently thanking the Brigadier with his eyes.

The Brigadier left the room after that. He could hear quiet murmuring as he walked away, but he wasn't inclined to eavesdrop. Making his way back to the main part of the TARDIS, the Brigadier made himself a cup of tea and waited. 

It was hard to tell time in the TARDIS, but it felt like a few hours later before the Doctor strode in, flicking a few switches on the console and petting her fondly. "I take it you got my message?" the Doctor asked quietly.

"I did," the Brigadier said, taking stock of this new version of the Doctor. He'd gotten a few band-aids to cover the cuts and had much more color to his face now. The outfit was, at least, fairly mild compared to some of the Doctors he'd met in the past, but the Brigadier wasn't so sure he approved of the hair. "How did you know I would do it?" the Brigadier asked finally. 

"Didn't," the Doctor said with a cheeky grin. "Didn't even know if the TARDIS would get him to you. Actually, I made quite a few of the messages for other people just in case. I'm glad it was you though." Digging his hands in his pockets, the Doctor leaned against the console. "Alistair, thank you for looking after him. You've done the one thing I've never been able to after all these years... You've helped him."

He was touched by the Doctor's thanks and almost couldn't respond for a few moments. It was more than the superficial thanks he'd gotten while being knighted. None of those people really knew him or what he'd done to save the world and he hadn't really been looking for the thanks to begin with. The Doctor knew all of that, however. This was true thanks and the Brigadier finally realized taking in the Master last year had been worth it all. He didn't do it for the thanks and certainly never expected to get it, but just this once it'd been nice to have. "How is he?" he managed to say after a while.

"Sleeping now. I slipped him a sleeping pill when he was a bit calmer." The Doctor looked absently towards the door to the corridors, a weary look crossing his face. "He just needs time to get used to it all again. I think... I think he'll be just fine now."

That was good news, at least. They still weren't friends really, but the Brigadier had, in spite of himself, grown rather fond of the Master over this past year. It was still a strange subject though that he tried not to think about too much. "What will you do with him now?"

The Doctor sniffed, coming to sit by him and leaning back lazily. "Well," he said, drawing out the word, "I thought we'd spend a little while at the Eye of Orion since we're already heading that way. After that, I might drop him off with that UNIT group he's grown attached to for awhile. It'll do him some good, that. Always did for me." The Doctor gave him another cheeky grin, both of them knowing that UNIT had been one of the few things to keep the Doctor sane during his exile to Earth. 

"Then..." the Doctor continued, "we'll see, I suppose. Hopefully he'll keep changing for the better." Looking over at the Brigadier, the Doctor suddenly looked like the cat that had gotten the cream. "How do you feel about a vacation, Brigadier?" the Doctor asked.

"A vacation?" Now there was a thought. He hadn't been anywhere relaxing since that trip to France with Doris and that had been years ago. Provided the Doctor actually got to where he was going... "It would be nice to relax a bit."

"Brilliant! Next stop, the Eye of Orion. Allons-y!"

* * *

The Eye of Orion was all that the Doctor had promised, silent and peaceful. The Brigadier was glad this place seemed to be one of the few where trouble didn't follow the Doctor. The Master was quiet through most of their trip, staying close to the Doctor or to the Brigadier when the Doctor and Master got in a fight. Which there were a few of, the arguments, but even the Master couldn't keep a grudge with the positive atmosphere of the planet.

After two weeks, they dropped the Brigadier back at his home. The Doctor hugged him tightly as the Brigadier patted him awkwardly on the back. "Thank you again, Alistair. You are one of the best, most brilliant people I've ever been friends with!"

The Brigadier smiled at the Doctor's over-enthusiasm, more wishing the babbling man would let him go sometime in the next century. "You take care of yourself, Doctor. I don't need to hear about you dying again."

Finally the Doctor let him go, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking very pleased as he rocked back on his heels. "Promise, I won't be trying that again!"

The Brigadier turned to face the Master then, who was scowling to himself and looking at the ground. It'd been a while since he'd been unable to meet the Brigadier's eyes. "And you'll be off too then?"

When the Master didn't answer, the Doctor started to reach out to the Master's shoulders, but the Master shrugged him off. Looking back between the two of them, the Doctor glanced at the Brigadier with a question in his eyes. He gave the Doctor a reassuring nod and the Doctor shook his hand with one final farewell before heading into the TARDIS.

The Master stayed, still not looking up. "What do you plan to do from here on out?" the Brigadier asked, when it became obvious that the Master wasn't going to speak.

"I'm still going to stay with UNIT for a while. Then... I might travel with the Doctor. Only temporarily though." There was a defensiveness about the Master that puzzled him, but the Brigadier didn't comment. If he were to guess, he'd say the Master had no real plans of actually leaving after that. 

The Master stayed where he was though, not making a move to the TARDIS. Finally, the Master looked up to face him. "Brigadier, I..."

And here he'd thought the Master couldn't surprise him anymore. The gratitude in the Master's eyes was one he'd never thought he'd see there and he was just as touched as he had been at the Doctor's thanks. "You're welcome," the Brigadier said a little awkwardly, but no less authentically. 

Swallowing heavily, the Master nodded. He didn't wait this time, slamming the TARDIS door behind him dramatically. 

The Brigadier watched as the TARDIS disappeared, shaking his head at the impossibility of it all. Next time the Doctor or the Master showed up, he was going to have to insist that he was retired and that they find someone else. Still, he walked back to his home with Doris and felt younger than he had in years.

~FIN~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quote of the Fic:
> 
> "There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart's desire. The other is to get it."  
> -George Bernard Shaw

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Without You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/586411) by [Etienne_Bessette](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Etienne_Bessette/pseuds/Etienne_Bessette)




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